North West Archives - Page 8 of 173

26Sep

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

JB Shorts 27 – 53two

Although the first JB Shorts was produced in March 2009 as a one off ‘festival’ of short plays it has grown each year and is now a much anticipated bi annual event presenting 6 short plays over one evening and last night presented its 27th iteration of the format. Track and Field by Sarah Macdonald Hughes Directed by Martin Gibbons When two women meet at a local athletics club attended by their children, a friendship develops between them as their cheer on their offspring from the sidelines. Performed beautifully by Sarah Macdonald Hughes and Rosina Carbone this hilarious observation of friendship between women was an excellent opener to the evening’s entertainment. Its darkly comic content performed with great rapport between the two actors observed the mundanity o...

26Sep

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

Syncopated – Liverpool Playhouse

The meaning of syncopated is explained at the end, tho perhaps more sensible if used to introduce the play, the simplest definition being ‘a variety of rhythms’. There is also a question of balance: between a present day brief encounter and the story of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, who brought jazz from America to the UK back in 1919. And it is a fascinating story; they enjoyed remarkable success, playing all over the country, including Buckingham Palace. But… Boy meets girl, boy annoys the hell out of girl (he’s a Londoner apart from anything else… boy asks for her help to compose a musical. Unfortunately, rather a contrived framing, not helped by being delivered in epistolatory style: after Frank from the Orchestra meets Liver Bird Penny, he sends her letters describing events - bu...

Little Shop of Horrors – The Forum Theatre

25Sep

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Little Shop of Horrors – The Forum Theatre

Adapted from the B-movie classic from over 50 years ago, this production has been brought to the stage by an extremely talent cast led by director and producer Gareth Cole, a long time NK stalwart who is undertaking his first full length theatre show, ably assisted by musical director Scott Mitchell, who also lead the excellent live band, and Jenny Arundale as choreographer. The back stage people contributed well to the overall production and their input should not be underestimated. Again another superb programme (presumably by Dominic Stannage again) with brilliant photographs by Kyle Hassall. The show is set in Mr Mushnik’s flower shop on Skid Row and explores the relationship between the staff of shy Seymour and quiet assuming Audrey. The fortunes of the shop take off when Seymour d...

25Sep

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

Stayin’ Alive – Liverpool’s Royal Court

Haha, haha… welcome to a funny peculiar comedy, and it needs to be full of laughs as Maggie’ tragic tale unfolds. What does she have to live for after all? About a year since her beloved Nan died, she has no friends, her sister is a bitch - her mother an even bigger one. She ricochets between clearing out the house where her grandmother brought her up, karaoke evening at the Blue Anchor and a therapist with problems of his own. Clearly written from experience, I was astonished to find that writer Victoria Oxley was taking the lead role. But wouldn’t be at all astonished to find that co-performer Emma Bispham is her BFF, such is the chemistry between them. And co-performer doesn’t start to cover the latter’s range: mother, sister, therapist, plus memorable tribute acts, by no means in a ...

24Sep

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Last Laugh – Liverpool Playhouse

Paul Hendy’s The Last Laugh arrives at the Liverpool Playhouse as both tribute and portrait of three of Britain’s most iconic comedians – Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams), Eric Morecambe (Bob Golding) and Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright) with an imagined meeting of the three in a slightly dilapidated dressing room of an unknown theatre. It’s a warm-hearted evening and our trio of actors are clearly accomplished mimics. However, with a sense that the show is a bit of an excuse to show off these talents, the show occasionally struggles as it slips uneasily between original theatre, greatest-hits homage and meandering biographical lecture. Each actor has an expert ear for the vocal cadence and physical timing of our comedians, honed through their own solo tribute shows, making the imper...

24Sep

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Fiddler on the Roof – Liverpool Empire

Fiddler on the Roofis a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein and is based on the story of Tevye a poor dairy man in imperial Russia around 1905. Entering the packed Empire theatre, the stage was set in a dark haze with the orchestra pit set at the back of the stage – it looked intriguing and inviting. As a lover of this wonderful story of a man’s fight for tradition in a Jew-hating world, the set was very fitting. I saw this play on stage many years ago when the lead was played by Topol who also played the lead in the film – it was great then and I was hoping that this would compete. The opening scene of the iconic fiddler sat precariously on a roof playing the melodic tune sets the scene wonderfully and below the straw roof canopy, th...

Di and Viv and Rose – Theatre by the Lake

24Sep

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Di and Viv and Rose – Theatre by the Lake

I was transported back to the 1980s and student life in a northern town at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick through Amelia Bullmore’s play Di and Viv and Rose. A story of three girls who meet for the first time in their student halls of residence, this play captures their lives and friendship over the following three decades. The minimal set brought back to life the decade of the gettoblaster, bright sportswear, and a time when students had grants and no free tuition. The three very different characters - Di, a working-class, northern lesbian, Rose, a middle-class, innocent and yet promiscuous southerner, and the more mysterious Viv, a feminist whose wardrobe came from the 1940s, and who was determined to work her way to the top of academia. This funny and moving play takes us...

A Taste of Honey – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

24Sep

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

A Taste of Honey – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Opening the Garrick Studio’s new season of Manchester based plays is the iconic A Taste of Honey. It’s hard to believe that Shelagh Delanay was just 19 years old when she wrote this funny yet furious piece which still manages to hit hard and square 65 years on from its first production. Set in Salford, in a damp and draughty bedsit, we meet Helen and her teenage daughter Jo mid moonlight flit as they decamp from one squalid living quarter to another. Described in the text as a ‘semi-whore’ Helen is a single mother, trying to make ends meet by whatever means she can and grasping on to whatever opportunities may come her way. Jo is weary of their lifestyle and is searching for love and security, for guidance and comfort, where none is likely to emerge. When her mother leaves her for Pe...

23Sep

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Buddy Holly Story – The Lowry

Written and produced by Alan Janes, The Buddy Holly Story has been delighting audiences worldwide since it first opened in 1989. Having toured across continents and played to more than 22 million people, the show has become a staple of jukebox theatre. Now, under the assured direction of Matt Salisbury, it arrives at The Lowry Theatre with a vibrant new cast who capture the energy, charm and tragedy of a legend of early rock ‘n’ roll. The production follows Buddy Holly’s short yet dazzling career between 1956 and 1959, classed as the golden years of rock ‘n’ roll. Starting out as a country musician in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy quickly realised his sound belonged to a new era. With The Crickets, he forged a distinctive style that blended country roots with rhythm and blues influences, produc...

20Sep

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Macbeth – The Grange Theatre

On a damp and dark evening in September, rather suitably, Macbeth is gracing the stage at The Grange Theatre in Hartford. Directed by Thomas Frith and assisted by Ben Simon, the performance of one of Shakespeare’s finest tragedy’s is always a brave undertaking by any company.With a simple setting consisting of the points of a very large, upturned crown as a backdrop, that at times also formed part of the woods and even the castle, the stage as a visual was extremely effective. Sound on entering the theatre enticed the audience with consistent sounds of a drum beating at regular intervals, setting the scene perfectly and heightened the anticipation of what was to follow. Emily Stone as Sound designer must be congratulated for this.Matt Concannon performed the part of Macbeth and did so to a...